Neil and I arrived back in London from Chicago last week, having had a brilliant experience yet again at the IMDPA’s 2026 conference.

The conference kicked off with a roundtable discussion about tariffs, with the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) representing can makers, The Aluminum Association representing the material providers to that industry, and Reynolds Services in tin mill, tinplate and flat-rolled steel.

CMI’s VP of communications and marketing, Tim Ebner, laid out CMI’s three track advocacy for the year ahead, which includes addressing the threat to the US from foreign-filled cans, eliminating or at least reducing section 232 tariffs for can makers, and providing further guidance for its members throughout all the tariff changes in order to help reduce costs. 

Matt Meenan, VP for external affairs at  the Aluminum Association, provided a balanced view of the aluminium sector; graphs shown during his presentation showed a massive decline in primary aluminium jobs, however they also showed that there are more secondary aluminium jobs than ever before.

In terms of primary aluminium demand, Meenan said that the US would need five new smelters built to be self-sufficient in meeting this – a huge challenge, with no simple solution. More details are outlined in the new ‘America Needs Aluminum’ campaign, which made its debut at the show.

One positive area of development in domestic supply of tin mill, as Reynolds Services senior VP of purchasing, Steve Mihm, noted, is the restarting of the U.S. Steel Gary works in Indiana, set to commence production in Q1 of 2027 and create 225 to 300 jobs. New talent will be trained by previous experts in the field, thus helping to retain knowledge for future generations in the industry.

Mihm stressed that supplier diversification is important for the year ahead regardless; the solution is “not always about price, but quality and delivery times.”

Also providing a fair American outlook, and some reassurance, was Alex Chausovsky, president and CEO of 3DM Consulting. In his latest economic update, he provided encouraging insights for US businesses, versus what mainstream media likes to make the general public believe: that the American economy is ‘failing’ compared to other global powers and that recession is imminent. Chausovsky recommended businesses in the room to take a look at their own leading indicators and to adopt a data-driven approach to future growth.

AI’s benefits and its setbacks were the discussion point during Why of AI‘s CEO, Alex Castrounis Q&A session – points highlighted were that inputs into AI systems need to be of high-quality in the first place (‘put crap in, get crap out’ as many audience members candidly noted), regulations should be implemented, and businesses should trial AI systems with a dedicated member or members of staff before rolling out to whole companies.

In an overview of the ‘Trends and Triumphs’ of the beverage can, Victoria Ryan, COO of Ardagh Metal Packaging North America, stated that energy drinks is the fastest-growing category in beverage cans in North America at the moment. Apt, then, that leading category brand, Monster, had its senior director of tech services, Steve Clark, sit down with Samuel Courtney for the Two Cans podcast chat during the IMDPA two-piece session to speak about his career, Monster’s growth and its developments in tactile varnish innovation. A Monster can celebrating 250 years of America by AMP was also awarded the Two-piece Beverage Award of Excellence by the IMDPA at its ceremony on 30 September.

Look out for my full review of the 2026 conference in our November/December edition of the magazine.

Thanks once again to the IMDPA for an insightful couple of days!

Alex Rivers (she/her), CanTech International editor
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